The Pulitzer Prize board awarded an honorary award to the teenager who filmed the killing of George Floyd last May.
Darnella Frazier, who was 17 years old when she used her cellphone to record video of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneel on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes as he begged for air before going limp during an arrest, was awarded a special citation when the board announced all of the 2021 winners on Friday.
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The now-18-year-old received the award “for courageously recording the murder of George Floyd, a video that spurred protests against police brutality around the world, highlighting the crucial role of citizens in journalists’ quest for truth and justice,” the announcement read.
Frazier, who is black, called Floyd’s death “a traumatic life-changing experience for me” on the one-year anniversary of his murder.
“I’m proud of myself. If it weren’t for my video, the world wouldn’t have known the truth. I own that. My video didn’t save George Floyd, but it put his murderer away and off the streets,” Frazier said.
Chauvin, who has since been removed from the police force, was convicted by a jury on charges of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and manslaughter. He is now awaiting sentencing.
Frazier testified during the trial, and she apologized for “not doing more.”
“When I look at George Floyd, I look at my dad, my brother, my uncle because they are all black. I look at that, and I look at how that could be one of them,” she said between tears. “There have been nights I stayed up apologizing to George Floyd for not doing more, not physically interacting and not doing more.”
Floyd’s death, in conjunction with other high-profile police-involved deaths, led to nationwide protests highlighting law enforcements’ use-of-force strategies and how they interact with people of color.